The flu can kill tens of millions of people. In 1918, that’s exactly what it did

washingtonpost.com ^ | 1/26/2018 | Ashley Halsey III

[AppyPappy]

You are basing your belief on something you don’t know. Find the evidence, then form your belief.... not the other way around.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

I’m basing my belief on what I’ve studied over 27 years on both sides of the coin.

You’ve well-expressed one side. Great.

I’m guessing you are pleased to know that much and no more. Great.

Your right to choose.

[okkev68]

Same here. My wife had the vaccine and was over it in 2 days. I am on day 7 and just now getting back to halfway feeling good. Still hacking up stuff.

I can’t remember ever being that sick or feeling that miserable. It’s knocked out 50% of our shop floor personnel.

[Pelham]

“I read that the 1918 flu mostly killed younger people. Middle age and seniors not so much.”

Probably not mostly, just way more than usual.

1918 flu was an animal/human hybrid flu. A swine flu or bird flu.

These influenzas can provoke a cytokine storm, a massive immune system response. The real flu is lung disease, and the lungs of the young and healthy filled with immune cells and fluid and suffocated the young and strong.

That’s why the medical types of the CDC seem to panic when a hybrid flu shows up and want you to get the vaccine. These have the real potential to kill by the tens of thousands. The antivaxxers will get to be overrepresented when one rolls around. Their choice.

[jetson]

Most deaths were from the poorer populations. They found the people who could afford meat ( protein) had a lower death rate. These flus attack what protein your body has.

[AppyPappy]

This is the side

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20180118/a-mothers-story-flu-killed-daughter-in-two-days

[aMorePerfectUnion]

I wish you well in the flat world , but my world has more than just two dimensions.

We all choose. Good luck and stay healthy.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Yeh I’m one of the anti vaccers. This isn’t 1918 and 10% protection isn’t worth the risk of the vaccine but its a choice everyone has to make. I’m staying away from crowds, busy stores etc for the next 6 weeks.

[rktman]

Well in that case, I’m off protein shakes until after flu season. ;-)

[FreedomForce]

10% effectiveness was the number the media hyped. It’s from the Australian flu season and is not accurate for the U.S. I’m seeing 30-40% effectiveness numbers being cited for the U.S.

[Pharmboy]

From a recent article in WaPo: "In general, flu vaccines tend to work better against influenza B and influenza A (H1N1) viruses and offer lower protection against influenza A (H3N2) viruses."

Also..."U.S. officials often look to Australia, where the flu season begins during our summer and their winter, for clues on what to expect for flu in the United States. Flu virus infections began increasing earlier than usual in Australia, hitting historic highs in some areas, and interim reports suggested that vaccine effectiveness against H3N2 was only 10 percent. The vaccine for the United States has the same composition as the one used in the Southern Hemisphere.

"But Australia vaccinates only the elderly and infirm, who generally don’t respond as well to vaccines. Its approach makes a difference in vaccine effectiveness rates because children have better responses. CDC officials said a better predictor of vaccine effectiveness for H3N2 is last season's vaccine's effectiveness in the United States. The current vaccine contains the same H3N2 component as last season, which was about 32 percent effective."

[FreedomForce]

The media was pushing the 10% effectiveness story hard this flu season. I wonder how many people skipped getting the flu shot because of that. I thought this article was interesting.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1123404/flu-shots-effectiveness-is-being-misunderstood.html

1300 people got the flu shot at an Albuquerque clinic last season compared to 130 this season. I’m sure the difference isn’t anywhere close to that extreme everywhere, but could the difference still be enough nationwide to cause this flu season to be worse than usual?

[Karliner]

Agree with checking a virus as the world turns. Common sense would suggest Australia and other Down Under countries should be a great precursor as to flu vaccinations.

I still am ambiguous as to flu shots working much more than a minimal amount as the article you posted states. I think we are on the same page with that.

When I worked the big state psych units we'd all get mandated flu vaccines and it went the same for any pts under conservator ship despite patients rights. I think I had a minor 24 hr bundle of symptoms once but other than that no problems. I do remember one case we had to go to court for a judges order to give the flu vaccine. That pt was a nemesis but really knew the law!

[Pharmboy]

The 10% protection is a distortion. It's based on Australian data and they only give flu shots to the vulnerable, while we offer them to all. The number is actually about 30% protection.

I am a physician in urgent care/family practice and was just told about a patient from an urgent care center within our care group about 10 miles from where I now sit. An otherwise healthy guy in mid-fifties came in late December and was diagnosed with influenza B (usually milder than A) continued with a cough into January, seen again (x-ray negative), but started on the right antibiotic and sent home. Went to hospital because of trouble breathing a few days later and died a few days after admission. He was not initially started on Tamiflu because his symptoms started 4 days prior.